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Habs Game Report: Hot Max Pacioretty pots two in Washington

Author of the article:

Pat Hickey • Montreal Gazette

Publishing date:

January 20, 2018 • 3 minute read

Montreal Canadiens center Byron Froese (42) skates with the puck as Washington Capitals center Jay Beagle falls to the ice during the second period of an NHL hockey game Friday, Jan. 19, 2018, in Washington.Nick Wass/ AP

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WASHINGTON — Two nights after delivering one of their worst efforts of the season in Boston, the Canadiens bounced back with a solid defensive performance as they held the Metropolitan Division-leading Washington Capitals to 25 shots en route to a 3-2 victory Friday night at Capital One Arena.

Antti Niemi posted his first win as a Canadien while running his career record against the Capitals to 6-0-3.

Habs Game Report: Hot Max Pacioretty pots two in WashingtonBack to video

Paul Byron snapped a 1-1 tie when he scored his 13th goal at 10:41 of the third period. He was in the right spot at the right time as Jakub Jerabek’s shot from the point went off the end boards and came out on the far side. The puck went off a skate in front and came out to Byron in the slot.

Max Pacioretty scored an empty-netter for his second goal of the game and that became the winner when former Canadien Lars Eller scored with 54 seconds to play.

Finding iron: The Canadiens had some chances on a power play five minutes into the third period after Andre Burakovsky was sent off, but Alex Galchenyuk hit the goalpost twice. Burakovky had a breakaway coming out of the penalty box, but he also hit a post.

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Pacioretty opens the scoring: The Canadiens took a 1-0 lead when Pacioretty scored a power-play goal at 7:08 0f the second period. Pacioretty found some room in the left faceoff circle and snapped a quick wrist shot past Philipp Grubauer after taking a pass from Jonathan Drouin. It was the 13th goal of the season for Pacioretty, who has scored in five of the past six games.

Carlson nets equalizer: The Capitals pulled even with a power-play goal 13:24 of the second period. Defenceman John Carlson scored his sixth goal of the season with a shot from the blue-line that beat Niemi on the blocker side. The Canadiens missed an opportunity to regain the lead when Grubauer stopped Brendan Gallagher on a breakaway with 3:10 remaining.

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Defences prevail: Neither team was able to score in the first period that saw the Canadiens outshoot the Capitals 8-5. Washington had the only power play after former Capital Karl Alzner was sent off for slashing at 17:11, but the Canadiens didn’t allow a shot on goal. Washington was able to set up Alex Ovechkin twice on the wall for a one-timer, but his first attempt missed the net and he fanned on the second one.

Hudon needs to be selfish: Charles Hudon has a reputation as a goal scorer, but on two occasions he passed up shots in favour of passes that didn’t quite work out. In the first period, he tried to find Pacioretty in front of the net, but Pacioretty was in too deep and his shot hit the side of the net. Early in the second period, he had a step on the defender as he drove the net, but the threat ended when he attempted a pass to Byron.

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Capitals salute Fisher: There was a moment of silence before the game for legendary Montreal Star and Montreal Gazette hockey writer Red Fisher, who died Friday at the age of 91.

Coming attractions: The Canadiens return to the Bell Centre on Saturday to play the Boston Bruins for the third time in eight days (7 p.m., Sportsnet, TVA Sports, TSN Radio 690). It’s the first of three home games before the All-Star break. The Canadiens play the Colorado Avalanche on Tuesday and the Carolina Hurricanes on Thursday.

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